


Healing Touch

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College Student Stiles Stilinski, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Healing, Homelessness, Hurt Derek Hale, Light Angst, Loss of Powers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-01-07 00:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18399422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: In a world where Derek disappears in season 4 when he realizes he's losing his powers. Two years after he disappears Stiles finds him living on the streets, homeless and hungry. He brings him home with him, determined to figure out what is going on and how he can help Derek.





	Healing Touch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arsenic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arsenic/gifts).



> Written for Arsenic for the 2019 Hurt Comfort Exchange. I tried to stick with your tags and what you said you liked, so hopefully this is something you enjoy (:

The wind whips cold against his skin as he walks down the nearly empty street. He pulls his coat tighter around him, attempting to shield himself from the stinging onslaught of wind. It’s later than he’d normally be walking back to his apartment. But he’d had to stay late to finish his group project. He’s honestly just glad to have it done.

He frowns when he looks up ahead and sees someone sitting against the wall. There’s a hat out in front of him, along with a sign. He wants to help but his dad’s advice about giving something like food rather than money sticks with him. Looking around Stiles spots a cafe still open. He slips inside and buys a cup of warm tea and a sandwich.

Stiles hesitantly approaches the man, whose eyes are the only thing visible on his covered face. Something about them is so familiar that it has Stiles’ breath catching. But there’s no way it could be him.

“It’s not much.” Stiles says, holding out the tea and sandwich. “But I thought you might be hungry.”

The man reached out, Stiles assumed to take the food, but the next second his hand was wrapped around Stiles’ in a surprisingly strong grip. The sandwich and tea land on the ground. For a moment, Stiles panics, sure that the man is going to kill him. Then he speaks.

“Stiles.”

Stiles freezes.

He knows that voice too, as much as the eyes that are now fixed on him with an unwavering intensity. It’s one that’s haunted his dreams ever since he left over a year ago. The man stands up and pulls the scarf away from his face. He speaks again, his voice full of awe as he brings a shaking hand up to Stiles’ face.

“Stiles.” He repeats. “It’s really you.”

Stiles swallows hard, feeling tears well up in his eyes as his hand comes up to cover the one on his cheek.

“Derek.”

***

It takes a bit of convincing, but he finally gets Derek to agree to come home with him. He gets him a towel and some clothes and directs him into the bathroom to shower and warm up. In the meanwhile Stiles starts raiding his cabinets. He finds some soup, bread, and cheese. It’s simple, but he always likes soup after being in the cold. Hopefully Derek will too.

He still can’t get over the fact that Derek’s here.

Derek had vanished back in the middle of all the benefactor business and no one could ever find him. Kate had taunted them when they’d found her, saying that Derek’s powers were gone and he was probably other there, somewhere withering away. Stiles hadn’t wanted to believe it.

But seeing Derek like that he couldn’t deny now that she had been right.

He stands there stirring the soup and flipping the grilled cheese, but his ear is trained on the bathroom. He’s not sure what he’s listening for exactly. Maybe just making sure he’s not hallucinating and that Derek is actually here.

He stops his stirring and looks down at his fingers. He counts them all three times just to be sure. They’re there. All ten of them. No more. No less. Which means so is Derek.

The water turns off as Stiles is getting the bowls out of the cabinet. He pours the soup in, giving Derek just a bit more than he does himself. He’s placing them on the table when Derek walks out.

Stiles doesn’t stare; though he is tempted. It’s been so long since he’s seen Derek.

“I made soup-” Stiles says, gesturing to the bowl he put out for Derek. “-and grilled cheese. What do you want to drink? I know better than to suggest soda. Maybe some water? Juice?”

“Water’s fine.” Derek says. He walks to the table and examines the food there, before thankfully taking the one that Stiles had placed just for him. “Smells good.”

“You can thank Campbell’s.” Stiles tells him. “That’s about where my knowledge of soup begins and ends.”

He feels pleased when Derek’s lips twitch up into a hint of a smile. Stiles grabs two bottles of water and returns to the table.

They eat in silence. Mostly because Stiles doesn’t know what to say. What do you say to someone you haven’t seen in almost 2 years? He decides to give Derek time to enjoy his meal. If he’s been living on the streets there’s no telling when he had his last meal.

When they’re done he leads Derek over to the couch and wraps him in one of his heavy blankets. Derek is still shivering, and he looks so small; almost like he’s withering away. But even then, this is still Derek.

“God it’s good to see you.”

Derek tilts his head, “Is it?”

Stiles’ brow furrows, “Of course it is. You just disappeared dude. We were worried. _I_ was worried. I tried calling but…”

“I disconnected my phone.” Derek finishes.

“Yeah, but why?”

“I didn’t want anyone to find me.” Derek admits. “After what happened with Kate I’ve been slowly dying. I didn’t want anyone to see that. I didn’t want to be a burden.”

“Are you kidding me?” Stiles asks. He can’t help but feel angry at Derek’s words. “You could never be a burden Derek.”

“All I ever wanted was to be pack back then.” Derek tells him. “But without my powers I was nothing. I was a liability. So I left. I thought everyone would be better off. I felt like I deserved it.”

Stiles hates how sad he looks. He moves closer, putting a hand on Derek’s neck. Derek tenses, but he doesn’t move away. Stiles knows that doesn’t mean anything. Especially when it comes to Derek.

“Do you want me to let go?”

Derek takes a deep breath before shaking his head. “No. I need…”

“What?”

Derek doesn’t say anything. He just looks at his hands. Stiles knows enough to know he probably doesn’t know how to ask for what he needs. Stiles wraps his arms around him loosely, needing Derek to know it’s okay to pull away. Derek sinks into his arms, burying his face in Stiles’ neck.

“I missed you,” Derek tells him.

“I missed you too.” Stiles says, brushing a hand through Derek’s hair. He keeps it on Derek’s neck. “And for the record, you were always pack Derek. Always.”

He can feel hot tears on his neck as Derek starts to shake in his arms, “I don’t want to die, Stiles.”

“You’re not going to.” Stiles tells him, his voice firm. “I won’t let you.”

He feels Derek smile against his skin, “You’re still as stubborn as ever, I see.”

“Not going to change now.”

“Good.” Derek pulls back to look at him. His face is serious. “I like you the way you are.”

Stiles rubs the back of Derek’s neck and smiles, “I like you too. Which is why I’m going to find a way to help you.”

“I know. I think that’s why I wound up here,” Derek tells him. “I didn’t know you were here, but I just had a feeling this was where I should be. And then you were there, offering me food and being kinder to me than anyone has been in months.”

The thought of Derek living on the streets makes Stiles angry. He doesn’t deserve that. No one does.

“You’re not going back there.” Stiles tells him. “You’ll stay here with me.”

“Do you have the room?”

“I have a big ass comfortable bed,” Stiles says.

“I couldn’t kick you out of your bed,” Derek mumbles.

Stiles snorts, “I never said you were. It’s big enough so I’ll be sleeping there too. There’s no reason either of us should sleep on the couch.”

Derek nods, “A bed does sound nice.”

“Are you tired?” Stiles asks.

“A little.” Derek admits. “I didn’t get much sleep out there. The soup and blanket and warm clothes have relaxed me enough that I might be able to now though.”

“Well then come on. I’m exhausted so I can definitely crash. And I know you need to.”

He stands up and pulls Derek to his feet before heading down the hall to his room. He tries not to show how nervous he is as he crawls into bed. Derek hesitates for a moment before getting in on the other side.

They lay there, neither one of them moving. Stiles glances at Derek to see him staring at the ceiling, his hands clenched at his sides. He reaches over, gently placing one of his hands over Derek’s. He lets his thumb stoke across his skin. Derek looks at him, a vulnerability in his eyes Stiles isn’t used to.

“What do you need, Derek?” When Derek hesitates, Stiles gives him a reassuring smile. “If you can’t ask, show me.”

Derek’s brow pinches, his eyes studying Stiles’ face. Then he’s rolling over and moving towards Stiles, who lifts his arms, wanting Derek to know it’s okay. Derek curls around him. His legs tangle with Stiles’, while one arm goes over his stomach, and his face presses against Stiles’ neck.

“You can touch me.” Derek mumbles against his throat. “I trust you.”

Stiles takes a deep breath and lets his arms drop. One wraps around Derek’s back, while the other moves up to his hair, carding gently through it. “You’re safe here, Der.”

Derek snuggles in closer, the tension seeming to leave him. It breaks Stiles’ heart a bit being this close to him. He’d always wanted it, but he imagined it under different circumstances. Now he just needs to focus on being what Derek needs.

He makes a vow to get him to eat more. He feels far too thin.

“I’ve got you,” Stiles tells him, placing a kiss to his hair.

Stiles stays up, his senses attuned to Derek. He relaxes in his hold, his breathing evening out as he falls asleep in Stiles’ arms. Only then does Stiles allow his eyes to close and sleep to take him.

***

Stiles has a moment of panic when he wakes up and Derek isn’t there. He starts picturing him cold and dying out on the street and throws back his covers and jumps out if bed.

He rushes out into the hall and stills. Derek is standing in the kitchen. He’s at the stove, a spatula in hand as he flips pancakes.

Derek lifts his head and smiles, “There you are. I was wondering if you were going to sleep all day.”

“What time is it?”

“Just after ten.” Derek says. “I checked your schedule and you didn’t have class so I let you sleep. You looked like you could use it. Now why don’t you go wash up? Breakfast is almost done.”

All Stiles can do is nod before heading back down the hall to the bathroom. He spends most of his time in there trying to figure out what the hell is happening. Waking up to find Derek making breakfast is like something out of a dream. For the second time in less than twenty four hours he finds himself counting his fingers.

Ten exactly.

He’s not dreaming.

He goes back out to the kitchen to find Derek putting food on the table. Stiles hovers nearby. “Can I help with something?”

Derek shakes his head, “No. I’ve got it. You just sit down.”

He kisses Stiles’ cheek and they both still. Their eyes meet, and Stiles picks up on the nervousness there. Not just from himself, but Derek as well.

“Oh fuck it,” he mutters.

He throws himself into Derek’s arms and kisses him. It only takes a second for Derek to react. One arm wraps around Stiles’ back while the other moves to his hair. The intensity of the moment has his head spinning, but he doesn’t pull back. He can’t. He’s finally kissing Derek after years of loving him from a distance, and then wondering if he was even alive.

It’s when the kisses slow that Stiles realizes something. His legs are wrapped around Derek’s waist, and Derek isn’t even wavering. Something Stiles wouldn’t have thought twice about before, except to find it incredibly hot. Which he does. But with the way Derek was looking last night, almost on the brink of death…

“Someone has got their strength back,” Stiles murmurs against his lips.

Derek grins and pulls back slightly, letting Stiles see his eyes. His brilliant blue eyes. “That’s not all I got back.”

“But how?” Stiles asks him. “Last night you were… well you said you were dying. And now…”

“I guess you just have a healing touch,” Derek tells him.

Stiles grins, “I literally brought you back from the brink of death with the power of my love.”

Derek rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling fondly at him. His hand comes up to cup his cheek. “I knew if there was anyone that could save me, it would be you.”

“Of course.” Stiles says. “That’s what we do. We look out for each other.”

Derek walks them backwards, until Stiles’ back hits the counter. He jumps up, quickly wrapping his legs around Derek’s waist again, drawing him closer. Stiles kisses him again, losing himself in the way Derek’s lips move against his own. The way his tongue licks into his mouth, tangling with his own, drawing needy moans from him as his hands dance across his body.

Stiles throws his head back with a gasp when Derek’s mouth moves down to place biting kisses along his throat. It’s then that he catches the smell.

“Is something burning?”

Derek pulls back, his brow furrowing in confusion before his eyes widen, “The pancakes!”

“Too bad.” Stiles says. “Can you make some later? Maybe for lunch? I plan to work up an appetite.”

Derek laughs and kisses him softly, “I used up all the batter.”

“Well then we can go out for lunch.” Stiles says. When Derek starts kissing his throat again he sighs. “Or order in. Ordering in is good.”

“First, we need to turn off the burner.” Derek tells him, not making any move to pull away.

Stiles leans back, turning his head as his hand finds the knob. He turns it off and scoots the pan off the burner. When he turns back to Derek, he smirks. “Now where were we?”

“I believe you said something about working up an appetite.” Derek says. His voice is low and sends a thrill through Stiles as Derek runs his nose along Stiles’ jaw.

“Then we are eating,” Stiles tells him. “I don’t care if you’ve been magically healed or not. You need to eat.”

Derek smiles against his cheek, “Of course, Stiles.”

Stiles knows there’s still a lot they need to discuss and figure out. The biggest one being what had happened to Derek and how he was suddenly magically better now. Part of Stiles doesn’t know if he should believe it was really this easy.

Then he looks at Derek, hovering over him with a soft smile on his face, looking happy and alive and healthy. Sometimes when things seem to be going well it’s because they truly are. He thinks this is one of those times. Not everything has to come with a price after all. For once, they can just let themselves be happy.


End file.
